September 14, 2005
State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces
$7.5 Million in Grants for Foster Youth Services
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today awarded 55 licensed children's institutions more than $7.5 million in grants from the Foster Youth Services Countywide District Programs. For a list of the grantees, please visit Funding Results: Foster Youth Services Countywide.
These grants provide academic and social support services to foster youth aged four to 21 living in licensed children's institutions or group homes in California.
"Foster children often are physically and emotionally traumatized by personal events that cause them to fall through the cracks of our education system," said O'Connell. "“These grants are designed to give them the help they need to perform at grade level, and ultimately graduate, get a good job, or fulfill the dream of going to college."
In 1981, the state Legislature determined while many of these traumatized children are placed in foster care to protect them from volatile family circumstances, the foster care system often lacks the security and stability they need to succeed in school. They face many barriers, such as multiple transfers between schools, loss of school and health records, difficulty adjusting, and loss of contact with other people who care about them. The Legislature determined this often has a detrimental impact on the students' academic achievement and future success. As a result, the Legislature passed measures to mandate the Foster Youth Services program and related funding in 1981 under Education Code sections 42920-42925. Unfortunately, with the current budget crisis, funding may be reduced or deferred.
The California Department of Education awarded the first grants in 1998-99 that funded 35 countywide programs. By 2003-04, the program expanded to cover 50 county offices of education, serving about 12,000 foster children, representing 92 percent of the foster youth residing in group homes. Eligible applicants include county offices of education, a consortium of school districts working with the county office of education, or a consortium of counties as a single applicant.
In this round of grants, applications were limited to counties that have not applied or have not been awarded a grant before. After a rigorous review process of three new applicants, two awardees were selected, and advised they would receive the grant. Awardees that received grants in the past were not required to file paperwork again to receive additional funding this year, as part of the Superintendent's Paperwork Reduction Initiative.
All the grantees will receive 50 percent of the funds this month, and the other half in January once they fulfill the requirements and assurances outlined in their grant applications. The three remaining counties that have not applied or have not been awarded a grant before will be targeted in next year's round of funding, including the counties of Del Norte, San Benito, and Tuolumne.
For more information about the Foster Youth Services Countywide District Programs, please visit Past Funding Profile (ID 603): Foster Youth Services Countywide.
